Although it’s far from perfect, I love the Internet because you never know when some smart idea or question is going to break through all the memes and cat pictures and start a real conversation. One day I saw a screenshot of a tweet commenting that people who think anime and manga need to “change” seem to want those mediums to be more like “failing” Western comics. I asked my Twitter followers what does anime and manga NOT need to change, and, in addition to blowing up poor @LavendarGhast’s Twitter feed, got lots of useful replies from J-List customers. Read them below!
J-List Customers Reply! What Do Anime and Manga Need to Change, or Not Need to Change?
What doesn’t need to change? Everything that made anime stand out and rise above Western mediocrity. NOTHING NEEDS TO CHANGE.
My trash isekai doesn’t need to change. I need my power trip otherworldly fantasies to escape from our current shit reality.
Manga & anime are making too much money, and people are enjoying them too much. They must be stopped.
Hmm… If there’s one thing that I do wish that anime and manga need to be changed is being overworked to death in the industry and the high demand. It pains me to know that artists, authors, and staff work so hard, with no breaks.
I support paying the creators better, otherwise… ABSOLUTELY NOTHING NEEDS TO CHANGE.
What did I learn by going drinking with an actual anime producer? Here’s a blog post for you!
Comics are failing? The communities I’m in for them are thriving.
Peter’s response: I think the meme that Western comics are losing out to Japan’s manga industry came about from an article stating that Demon Slayer’s manga had outsold the entire American comics industry. According to this ANN post, this is likely incorrect (the two numbers used different timeframes), and in fact, American comics did have their biggest year sales-wise in 2020. But so did Japanese manga.
The problem with Western comic books is that they used to be easier to follow. Today is a different matter. Now with the constant updates to the characters’ origins, new story arcs, different issues, new characters, it’s hard to keep up.
And when you’re finally properly up to date…reboot! Anime at least lets you get a proper ending to the story.
“Anime is too horny, I can’t show it to my parents.” Just don’t show it to them. I need my horny cartoons…
People like anime and manga because it’s different and unique from American cartoons and comics. Both have their flaws, but turning one into the other will ruin what people like about it. It’s why an anime-inspired western cartoon will still be different from an anime.
They don’t need to try to target international audiences. We like it because it’s Japanese.
That’s because the people making demands aren’t even fans.
Anime and manga do not need to change. It is unique and should not be diluted to cater to Puritans.
Peter’s response: Yes, the general view seems to be that we all want anime and manga to remain as they are, a wonky kind of pop culture aimed at Japanese fans which we can also enjoy. The good news is that Japanese manga publishers are very aware of this, and smart people like Love Hina creator Ken Akamatsu are fighting the good fight against censorship for all of us.
Anime and manga: Suffering from success.
I would like less fan service in places it isn’t needed but that’s really the only thing and I’ve always felt that way.
Peter’s reply: I think a lot about confirmation bias, and how if we become sensitive to a certain issue, our brains will easily find supporting evidence for that opinion. People who say there’s “too much” fan service are, in my mind, extrapolating the sexy visual imagery that exists in a few shows to all anime. In any given season, there’ll usually be only one or two shows that 100% fan service. It’s far more common that there is no fan service, or perhaps just a single pantyshot in episode 1 to get fans’ attention… then nothing after that.
They don’t need to change anything, I love them just the way they are.
The next time I hear someone say anime and manga “need to change.”
A New Way to Think About the World
The world has certainly changed a lot over the past two weeks. I happened to see an excellent Imgur thread posited that, years from now, we’ll look back on the decade of the 2010s as the First Great Information War, which started in 2014.
Now that Vladimir Putin has invaded neighboring Ukraine, something none of us thought possible even a month ago, it seems apparent that Russia has been executing a plan to use social media to harm all of us for years. Everything from the country’s manipulation of the 2016 U.S. election to interference in the Brexit vote and even events like Gamergate has likely been part of a plan by Mr. Putin to harm us by making us turn on each other over every issue. No matter where you sit on the political scale, whether you’re against “wokeness” or want stories that are more inclusive, whether you were pro- or anti-Brexit (if you’re in the UK), or how you feel about gender issues, the chance is very real that your views have been manipulated by Russian provocateurs on the Internet at some point. Even how you feel about The Last Jedi or The Rise of Skywalker was apparently influenced by Russian trolls and bots, eager to sow discord on your Discord.
So as we learn more about the new world we’ve all been thrust into perhaps we should all take care to exercise more empathy with others online and realize that when we fight with each other online, we’re playing right into the hands of Mr. Putin.
Thanks for reading this post about things anime or manga does or doesn’t need to change. Got any comments for us? Post them below, or share with us on Twitter!
J-List is working hard to help keep stress at bay during these stressful times, and that means adding lots of delightful new ero products to the site for everyone. Browse the new products we’ve got for you this weekend!
